Traveling exhibition catalog and documentary

Title: The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures
Texts: Edward A. Shanken, Nathaniel Stern, Amanda Boetzkes, Kate Mondloch, Jennifer Johung, Kennan Ferguson, Coe Douglas
Style: Hardcover and bound, 200 pages
Publisher: Nathaniel Stern and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Date of Publication: 2020
Language: English
Download The World After Us as PDF (27.2 mb)
Object list (with prices)

The World After Us: Imaging techno-aesthetic futures is Nathaniel Stern’s traveling solo exhibition of sculptures, installations, prints, and photographs that combine plant life with electronic waste, and scientific experimentation with artistic exploration. They take the forms of: a wall-hung jungle of computer detritus and biological reclamation; fossilized and reconfigured phones and laptops; and reimagined and re-formed electronics.

What will digital media be and do, after us?
What will my laptop, phone, or tablet look like in a million years?
How will our devices weather or grow over time?
What else might our techno-waste be, and how might we sense and feel this? 
Where might electronics lead our environmental and economic politics?
Can we plan and act toward new and different futures?

This body of work transforms what we discard so as to rethink conversations, thoughts, and actions around media production, use, and waste. At stake, whether in our everyday interactions or on a much larger scale, are the relationships between humans and the natural world on the one hand, between politics and commerce on the other.

The World After Us makes available this 200-page hardcover catalog, a short documentary, and an audio tour. It is generously supported by the UWM Office of Research.